On The Fly

As the Ray Rice story continues to command our attention, and sadden us, these were among the events of the day:

*Rice's wife, Janay, spoke out via Instagram. "No one knows the pain the media and unwanted [opinions] from the public has caused my family. To make us relive a moment in our lives that we regret every day is a horrible thing."

*NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said he did not see the full tape of the elevator scene that was released by TMZ, although it would appear he could have obtained it as easily as they did.

*Rutgers edited out of its stadium video packages Rice's running.

If anything is to be taken away, it's this: Domestic violence has many forms and victims; this is a discussion that must stay at the forefront; and there is no substitute for the will to take strong action on the part of those who serve as chief executive of sports leagues. Adam Silver showed that the way to go, in today's world, is to take the strong action up front and then deal with any push-back, rather than take weak action, as Goodell did, and be pushed by unfolding events to take stronger action when it's too late.

On the NBA front, the Hawks front office communication has generated another issue. A day after owner Bruce Levensen announced that he was selling his share of the team after racist emails surfaced, it was revealed that GM Danny Ferry made inflammatory comments about free agent Luol Deng in a call with owners as Deng was being evaluated as a free agent. The Rice story has overshadowed, but this won't fade away easily.

Let's get to the field: Team USA is rolling in the FIBA World Cup, beating Slovenia 119-76 in the quarterfinals. Rudy Gay had seven points, four rebounds and two assists; Andre Drummond had two points, a rebound and two blocks. Lithuania is next, in the semis. … UConn's Matt Barnes made his major league debut Tuesday for the Red Sox, showing impressive poise in three scoreless innings of work against the Orioles. He allowed three hits and struck out two. ... Rich Sauveur, the Triple A pitching coach who helped Barnes make his breakthrough this summer, is stepping down to pursue a major league job. … The WEEI-NESN radio-telethon last month raised more than $3.3 million for The Jimmy Fund. Thumbs up to all who contributed. … Oceanport Track in Camden, N.J., is planning to open its sports book and might start taking bets as soon as Sunday, now that it's legal in New Jersey. Just passing that along. … On this day, Sept. 10, in 1881, Waterbury's Roger Connor hit the first grand slam in major league history — not sure what they called it — but the bases were loaded with two out in the ninth and Connor's four-bagger gave the Troy Trojans a 8-7 walk-off victory against the Worcester Ruby Legs. You can, as they say, look it up.